This year's school verse..... (drum roll please)

"He will teach us how we should live.  

Then we will live the way He wants us to."

Isaiah 2:3b (NIRV)

Creekside Learning Center Year 4

My mind has been on overdrive as we get ready for another year of homeschooling. Tomorrow is the big day! We begin our 4th year of Creekside Learning Center, our homeschool.  Over the summer God has been reminding me that it is not curriculum that makes our school unique. Nor is it the worksheets we complete or the concepts learned. Rather it is the opportunity to disciple my kids.  Am I more concerned with the heart or their academics? Am I mindful that school is more than a checklist of subjects completed? It is also about character, family and faith.  It is about investing into my children.  This path we have chosen is not for the faint of heart. And it is not to be taken lightly. Nor should I even think I could do this without the Providential hand of God guiding me every step of the way. I am feeling very somber about the beginning of our school year.  I desperately want to be purposeful in our daily class time.  Purposeful to point to the many ways God is in each subject. To live before the kids a life dependent upon the Holy Spirit and to examine the heart of the issue not just gloss over the subject.


Josiah will begin third grade, Naomi second. We have the literature. We have the paper and pencils. And now we invite God to lead us in this adventure. To teach us, humble us and make known His Name for His Name's sake.

George Mueller Living

Five months ago, my husband became the chairman of the Food Share ministry in Ojai called Operation Blessing.  I had volunteered for this ministry several times in the past so I knew a little bit about what we were getting ourselves into. But I had no idea the amount to which it would challenge my faith and prayer life.


Operation Blessing distributes food once a month to local low-income families. We averaged 120 families a month.  The families receive a banana box of non-perishable foods and local produce. We also receive commodities from USDA and on occasion we will have frozen meats and cheeses.  The amount of food given to each family is designed to assist them and give them some breathing room in their budget so they can concentrate on keeping their utilities on, etc..


As Dustin has made changes, some responsibilities have fallen to me since he is unable to get work off in order to accomplish theses vital areas. I have become the "shopper." Once a month I go to the Food Share warehouse and buy all the foods needed for our monthly distribution.  I have made a conscious effort to focus on healthy staples and have eliminated the sugary desserts, juices, and other "junk" food.


Most Americans do not realize that there is a serious food shortage coming our way.  Items such as rice, beans and peanut butter will become high demand items in the near future.  The strain is being felt by the Food Share community as federal funds have decreased 50% this year and will decrease another 20% within the next year. All that to say that I have been intently praying for the commodities that we need most.


Last month I asked God for peanut butter. We hadn't seen any peanut butter jars for 3 months.  When I walked into the warehouse, I was shocked. Three-fourths of the palettes were empty.  I walked to one of the palettes that had food and the box read, "Peanut Butter, Jelly and Honey."  I was ecstatic. I put the max 10 cases on my cart and when I looked across the aisle, I saw a palette full of peanut butter cases which meant I could get another 10 cases!  It was like Christmas for me. Thank you Lord for hearing my plea for peanut butter. Then I thought, why did I stop at peanut butter? I should have asked for our other needs as well. As I am beating myself up for not having enough faith, I tell God that we could use canned vegetables too. I had not even finish the thought when the forklift put down a new palette behind me.  A full palette of CANNED VEGETABLES! Oh how I was rejoicing. (BTW, every box that said it contained peanut butter, jelly and honey, has only had peanut butter so we have double the amount we would normally be allowed to have.)


Today was another one of those moments. I took inventory of our pantry earlier this week and decided to bring to God the needs of the pantry. I had a little scrap of paper with four items written on it. Four items that have been in scarce supply and if found, I would need to get the maximum amount allowed.  Once again God proved his faithfulness by having all four items ready for me to purchase for our families. And He proved His extravagance by having boxed cereals; a commodity we have not seen in over 6 months. 
Oh the richness of our God!!

Matthew 6:31-32

New Living Translation (NLT)

 ³¹ “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ ³² These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs.

Philippians 4:19

New Living Translation (NLT)

¹⁹ And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.

Mama Hen

My sweet girl's favorite hen, and the only one we named, is a Cuckoo Maran named April. April began stealing all the other hen's eggs a couple of months ago in order to create for herself a clutch of eggs that she could sit on and hatch. It became a battle of the will as I would go out and check the nesting boxes 4, maybe 5 times a day and try to stop her from moving eggs and consequently breaking a number of them. Not only was it exhausting for me but it turns out it was pretty futile on my part. I finally gave in and set up a large dog crate with the essentials for a broody hen and chose 7 eggs for April to set on.

Twenty-one days later, to our great surprise, April hatched 6 out of the 7 eggs. I love watching her care for you chicks. I could do it for hours. She is a great teacher. I watch her teach the chicks how to scratch for food. I watch her show them how to catch bugs and which ones to eat and she fiercely protects them. One morning, I was watching her find food for the chicks and God quietly spoke to my heart about the important role a mother plays in the lives of her brood. April constantly instructs verbally and physically. She has a variety of clucks and coos to give her chicks instruction. Proverbs 31:26 says, "She speaks with wisdom and faithful instruction is on her tongue." I wondered if someone watching my life could say the same about me.

First Half of 2011

How pathetic is it that my last post was December 2010. Well, at least I can say life has been eventful around here.

Naomi had a wonderful kitty themed party in April to celebrate her 7th birthday. We had a lovely time with all her friends in the backyard and playing pin the tail on the kitty. Dustin also celebrated a big birthday- #40! We had a great time as a family and took him out for ice cream instead of our standard birthday cake.

We are putting to bed another year of homeschooling. Our third year! I cannot believe how fast it has gone by. This year we learned about Ancient Egypt, honed in on our addition/subtraction facts, practiced time and money skills so we don't get rusty, explored Science with air, in the kitchen and with magnets, read tons of tantalizing books, and wrote several short stories.

Josiah joined Cub Scouts a few months ago. He had his first camping trip 2 weeks ago and he loved it. Not sure that Daddy had the same enthusiasm but they made it home in one piece so I would call it successful. He also has worked really hard on completing some merit badges which he will receive tonight. He is very excited.

I am doing extraordinarily well with my health. I love homeschooling and super duper love my husband. It has been such a pleasure to watch God grow in my husband and kids. And to know the inner workings that He has been doing within my own heart is equally a joy; even when it hurts. But much like Eustace in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, it is a good hurt.

"Then the lion said – but I don't know if it spoke – You will have to let me undress you. I was afraid of his claws, I can tell you, but I was pretty nearly desperate now. So I just lay flat down on my back to let him do it. "The very first tear he made was so deep and I thought it had gone right into my heart. And when he began pulling the skin off, it hurt worse than anything I've ever felt. The only thing that made me able to bear it was just the pleasure of feeling the stuff peel off. You know – if you've ever picked the scab of a sore place. It hurts like billy-oh but it is such fun to see it coming away." (7.41-42)

Bah Humbug

I am feeling a bit cranky and probably not in the right humor to be posting but I have the day to myself so I am going for it. My crankiness is due to a minor surgery I had last Thursday which was supposed to have a two day recovery time. Let me reiterate: TWO DAYS. Here it is day 4 post operation and I am feeling worse than before I went in. I knew something was wrong when the post op care was for four weeks and not two days. Everyone keeps telling me that is will be worth it in the end. *sigh*

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